Press Releases
Membership of Review Committee on Regulation of Pharmaceutical Products announced
The Government today (March 24) announced the membership and terms of
reference of the Review Committee on Regulation of Pharmaceutical Products
in Hong Kong.
In the light of the recent drug incidents, the Secretary for Food and Health
last Thursday (March 19) announced the setting up of a review committee to
undertake a comprehensive review of the existing regulatory regime for the
regulation and control of pharmaceutical products.
The review committee will be chaired by the Permanent Secretary for Food and
Health (Health), Ms Sandra Lee, and comprises members from the
pharmaceutical sector, medical profession, academia, patient groups and
consumer representatives, among others.
The review committee will conduct a comprehensive review on all the relevant
issues including safety and quality assurance of drugs, standard and
practices of the pharmaceutical industry, and whether there is a need for
legislative amendments.
To support the work of the review committee, the Director of Health has set
up a task force to comprehensively review the existing control of the drug
supply chain, including manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers,
as well as the control of drugs.
An Expert Group on Microbiological Hazards on Drug Manufacturing will also
make proposals to the task force. Their recommendations will be put to the
review committee for deliberation. The Department of Health will enlist the
assistance of a reputable overseas authority to assist and advise on the
work of the task force.
The first meeting of the review committee will be held in early April. It is
expected that the review will be completed in six to nine months' time.
The following is the membership of the review committee:
Chairman:
Permanent Secretary for Food and Health (Health), Ms Sandra Lee
Vice Chairman:
Director of Health, Dr Lam Ping-yan
Non-Official members:
Executive Director, Hong Kong Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry, Ms
Sabrina Chan
President, the Practising Pharmacists Association of Hong Kong, Ms Iris
Chang
President, the Hong Kong Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Ltd, Ms
Celine Cheng
Chairperson, Care for your Heart �V Cardiac Patients Mutual Support
Association, Ms Sandra Chow
Education Director, the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Hong Kong, Mr
William Chui
President, the Pharmaceutical Society of Hong Kong, Mr Benjamin Kwong
Chairman, Hong Kong Private Hospitals Association, Dr Alan Lau
Chairman, Alliance for Renal Patients Mutual Help Association, Mr Andy Lau
Chief Executive, Consumer Council, Ms Connie Lau
Chairman, Hong Kong General Chamber of Pharmacy Ltd, Mr Lau Oi-kwok
Professor, School of Pharmacy, the Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Professor Kenneth Lee
President, Hong Kong Medical Association, Dr Tse Hung-hing
Chairman, the Pharmaceutical Distributors Association of Hong Kong, Ms Tina
Yap
President, Hong Kong Doctors Union, Dr Yeung Chiu-fat
Official members:
Deputy Director of Health, Department of Health, Dr Gloria Tam
Chief Pharmacist, Department of Health, Mr Anthony Chan
Director (Cluster Services), Hospital Authority, Dr Cheung Wai-lun
Chief Pharmacist, Hospital Authority, Ms Anna Lee
The terms of reference of the review committee are at the annex.
Ends/Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:00
NNNN